ESCUVAR
by Pics
Summary: The team must find the raiders of Escuvar or risk losing Daniel. Not an option as far as Jack is concerned, but who will rescue the rescuers? ...FINISHED...
1. Escuvar

**_ESCUVAR_**

* * *

The blue plastic cap of the pen clattered across the polished mahogany of the briefing room table. Teal'c caught it in one large hand and returned it to the archaeologist at his side, one eye brow raised in mute disapproval. 

The Escuvaran envoy ignored the interruption and concluded with a mild smile: 

"…and in order to understand the full significance of the artefact, we suggest that Dr Jackson views the temple himself as soon as such a visit may be scheduled."

Jack sat up abruptly. The cheek of these people was unbelievable.

"Did she put you up to this?"

"It was indeed Ellen's suggestion that the temple may warrant further investigation. The final decision must of course rest with Dr Jackson."

Medran's smile never wavered, and that riled Jack even further.

"Great. We're not going. Decision made."

He slapped his presentation folder shut and moved to rise. The sooner they got the Escuvaran out of here, the better. 

Hammond motioned him back into his seat. 

"We're not finished, Colonel. We will consider this proposal like any other."

O'Neill pulled a face, considering his options. He could stand his ground, and force Hammond's hand in front of the alien envoy. Or he could pretend to listen to the Escuvaran and bundle him back out through the gate as quickly as the General's precious diplomacy allowed. 

Across the table, Daniel was rubbing his forehead with the air of someone making friends with a raging headache. Reluctantly, O'Neill settled back into his chair. He eyed the Escuvaran envoy, resplendent in his tunic in matching shades of grey. He wondered briefly what he distrusted more - the man's annoyingly even temper or his resemblance to a galactic accountant.

"If Ellen knows all about that temple thing already, what's the point in sending Daniel out there?" O'Neill tried again.

Medran's smile remained fixedly in place.

"The telepathic connection between Dr Jackson and Ellen does not provide any factual knowledge, but mere psychological impressions. I was led to believe the implications of the link between them had been explained to you."

O'Neill suppressed an angry laugh.

"The implications are real clear. Last time we saw your Ellen, we nearly lost Daniel. I'm not doing that again."

Medran looked as if he was contemplating drilling a hole into the Colonel's skull and filling it with reason.

"Neither Ellen nor our people would make a request that is likely to result in damage to either Dr Jackson or our charge. You may rest assured that precautions have been taken to avoid any detrimental effect."

Daniel snatched a few photos from the centre of the table and quickly rifled through them. He paused over a shot of a tall basilisk half obscuring the entrance to the main structure and with a sinking feeling shuffled through the rest of the photos for a clearer view, knowing already it was unnecessary. There, in middle of the welter of writing on the column was Karttikeya's seal. Karttikeya. Daniel would have known it anywhere, the nest of swirls of, signed off with a single thorn, and he knew without thinking that Ellen would have recognised it also. 

The ruins of temple was only a short walk from the main Escuvar dwelling, and the only surprise in all this was that it had taken her this long to find them. Or to decide it was safe to get in touch with the SGC, he thought uncomfortably.

He raised his eyes to find the Escuvaran looking at him, the man's pale blue eyes intent as if trying read Daniel's thoughts off the back of his skull. Sam's voice penetrated the moment.

"Does that mean you have been able to destroy the link?"

A vaguely condescending smile twitched around Medran's lips.

"We are not familiar with the technology that has created this… unfortunate talent, and it is not our wish to cause further damage. We have concentrated our efforts on providing Ellen with a more active control over her mind, and we believe it is enough to render a visit safe."

"I thought you had said our brain structure was too different from yours to do that?" Carter asked.

"Primitive," O'Neill muttered beside her. "He said _too primitive_."

Medran fell back into his usual neutral demeanour.

"Ellen's telepathic processes, though artificially enhanced, still lack the sophistication that even a child of the Escuvar would possess. However, control over the existing mental pathways is largely a learned behaviour, and Ellen has proven an able student."

O'Neill rolled his eyes. "_That's nice for her_."

Teal'c spoke for the first time since Medran had begun his presentation.

"Are you suggesting it will be safe for Daniel Jackson and Ellen to meet again?"

Medran nodded.

"I am certain of it. As I said, we would not recommend contact if there was any doubt in this matter."

"It appears there is not reason to postpone the mission, O'Neill."

O'Neill shot the Jaffa an evil look.

"It _appears_ we're not going. End of story."

The Escuvaran watched the exchange and leaned back in his chair. His face remained impassive, but a sharp edge had crept into his polite tones.

"It is Ellen's belief that the artefact may contain important information that could assist you in your battle. I trust the outcome of this conflict is still of interest to you."

O'Neill picked an invisible piece of lint from his blue uniform.

"Can't see why Ellen should care, seeing that she's all cushy now with you _advanced_ folks…"

An uncharacteristic flush rose into Medran's cheeks.

"Need I remind you that it was Ellen who chose to abandon her planet so your organisation could keep its expert."

"Yeah, that was touching, wasn't it? Selfless and…what's the word? Altruistic." 

"Jack."

Daniel leaned forward, hands firmly on the table lest he betrayed himself. It was time to stop Jack before his enumeration of Ellen's values destroyed their relations with the Escuvarans entirely.

 "Jack, this isn't helping. We should look at this objectively…"

Daniel cringed a little under the Colonel's incredulous stare.

"Daniel, what is wrong with you? Do you _want_ to go through all this again?"

O'Neill turned to the envoy and rose, his chair scraping across the floor.

"Medran, thanks for stopping by and all that, but our decision is made."

Hammond raised a hand.

"Not so fast, Colonel. If the Escuvarans judge it safe, and Dr Jackson agrees with the importance of the site, then I don't see any reason to stop this mission. Dr Jackson?"

Daniel picked up the photo of the basilisk and absently pushed up his glasses. He had a long list of things he would rather do than visit Escuvar again. He looked up and waited for Jack to meet his eyes.

"I think we should go."

 * * * 

TBC


	2. The Temple

**_Chapter 2: The Temple _**

The sun hung low in the Escuvaran sky, obscured by a mass of grey cloud cover. The wind carried a fine mist of rain, too fine for real rain drops but just enough to be annoying. O'Neill was tempted to call off the mission due to bad weather, but they had been spotted by their welcome committee. With an inward sigh, he marched forward, his boots squelching in the wet grass. 

Airtor, the village elder, greeted him with a sober smile. Medran stood next to her, one hand firmly on Ellen's shoulder. It pleased Jack somewhat to find the young woman look as wary and uncomfortable as he felt himself, but not quite enough to make up for the way the back of his neck crawled at the sight of her. Ellen's eyes had adjusted to the planet's radiation, and were now the same shade of pale blue as the Escuvarans'. He suppressed a shudder and walked forward. 

"Ellen. How nice to see you."

Her lip twisted in a sardonic smile.

"Jack. I'm pleased you haven't lost your sense of humour."

"Yeah, well. You kind of need it around here."

She exchanged a nod with Daniel and an uneasy silence stretched between the parties. It occurred to Jack that the Escuvarans could be silently swapping their life histories while he and his team stood there, getting drenched. On an unspoken signal, Medran broke away from the group and offered to lead them to the temple. Jack followed, happy to be away from the stare of their too-intent eyes. 

Aitor linked arms with Ellen and they followed a few steps behind, with the woman elder dictating a slow pace. After a few moments, Jack noticed Teal'c lagging behind the rest of the team. 

"If my presence is not required at the temple, I would be interested to speak further with the Escuvarans, O'Neill. Their insights into meditation are considerable."

Medran halted.

"Ellen, why don't you show our friend around?" he asked.

She opened her mouth in protest, but Aitor gave her arm a firm squeeze and she managed a gracious smile.

"It would be my pleasure."

O'Neill waved them off, for once thankful for the delicacies of their telepathic hosts.

He followed Medran along an overgrown path, muddy from the rain, with Daniel and Carter close behind. Within minutes, they had been swallowed by a thick forest of sycamore-like trees, and out of sight of the gate. 

Jack wondered whether he should break out the bread crumbs, but Medran strode on purposefully, and at least the trees kept off the rain. The path wound along a gentle hill, and when they stepped out of the tree line, the clouds had cleared and the bulky shape of the temple lay before them, glistening in the pale sunlight. It was a simple pyramid structure made of rough-hewn stones, some 20 yards squared. The stones were covered in moss and lichen. Only the tall basilisk at the front of the structure showed any decorations or writing.

Jack shook out his cap, wondering if the elderly pile of rocks had been worth the walk, but Daniel went to work immediately, running his hands over the weathered stone and brushing earth deposits out of the relief work. Carter had left with Medran to walk around the structure and check for a back door. All was silent. Too silent.

"It's all right, isn't it?" Jack asked.

Daniel didn't look up.

"Yes, it's an old Goa'ould dialect, but I should be able to decipher it without too much trouble."

"That's not what I meant."

There was a pause while the archaeologist brushed away at a particularly dull-looking piece of lettering.

"I know that's not what you meant, Jack."

"So it's all right," O'Neill said again.

More ancient relief work was restored to its original splendour. The colonel groped for patience.

"Well, nobody has had a nervous breakdown yet, so…" Another minute brush stroke. "I guess we'll see."

"Oh crap."

O'Neill walked into the sunlight and radioed Teal'c for a status report. Daniel seemed fine, but it couldn't do any harm to check. The radio spluttered and crackled, and he had to try several times before he could hear Teal'c through the static noise. Carter reappeared from her little tour just in time to hear the Jaffa praise the Escuvarans' advances in botanical engineering. 

"Radio's not working properly," O'Neill muttered.

"The radiation from the Escuvaran sun may cause some additional static, Sir."

She looked at him, her blue eyes twinkling with enthusiasm at the thought of spending the day with the Escuvaran's botanical specialists. He could keep her here at the temple, for company, but…

"Oh for crying out loud. Carter, go and join Teal'c in the village. Find us some new sweet potato or something."

O'Neill watched her walk back up the path, chattering along with Medran about molecules and DNA variants. He settled his back against the temple wall, warm from the sunlight. 

"This is going to be boring, isn't it?"

Daniel moved his tool kit to the side of the basilisk facing the temple. He didn't bother to reply, and O'Neill nodded to himself. They could have done a lot worse than dull.

Daniel's voice drifted around the corner.

"You can go and check out the village if you like…"

O'Neill blinked into the sunlight. Maybe a nap?

"No, that's all right. I'm staying right here, watching… bits of stone…"

There was a soft snoring noise. Daniel straightened and peered around the stone column. Jack sat leaning against the lowest row of stones, his cap pulled into his face. He was fast asleep. 

The archaeologist dropped his magnifying glass into his backpack and stood silently before the basilisk. He closed his eyes briefly, remembering. He raised one hand and without hesitation pressed a series of seemingly random symbols on the stone. And waited. 

A gust of wind rose from the mountains beyond the forest, but he didn't feel the sudden cold. A bird called for its mate, its song low and melodic. Then the valley lay in silence. In the temple, a door swung open noiselessly, and centuries of dust and dry air mingled with the spring outside. With a last glance at the dozing Colonel, Daniel stepped inside the dark hallway.

* * * 

_To be continued…_


	3. Stone and Dust

**_Chapter 3: Stone and Dust _**

Daniel fished his torch out of a pocket and switched it on. The hallway seemed to run the length of the pyramid. The stone was bare of any decorations or inscriptions, and not even cobwebs broke the monotony of yellow sandstone and dust. After a few yards, he paused to listen, but there was no sound from outside. Jack was still asleep. The colonel would have his guts for garters if he found out that Daniel had walked into the temple alone, but this was too important.

He moved on. The corridor before him lay in darkness, only the square of pale light behind him testified to the day. The torch illuminated more sandstone ahead, graded with the slope of the pyramid. Daniel swept his light to the right and ducked into a low entrance to another room, his heart beating fast. 

The walls were framed by a work bench running the length of the room. Tools cluttered the surface of the bench and shelves above. Small dishes held dried twigs and heaps of dust like offerings to the gods of decay. In the centre of the room was another, larger desk, covered in the same disarray of tools and dead plant samples. 

Daniel swept his torch across the chamber, disappointment rising in his throat like bile. Karttikeya's botany lab. This wasn't what he was looking for. But he had to be certain. He searched each segment of the bench and shelves, quickly and methodically. There were masses of Petri dishes, containers filled with bone-dry soil and dust, the remnants of the Goa'ould's equipment – all abandoned as if he had expected to return within minutes. 

On the desk in the centre he found a store of data crystals. He would have to figure out a way to read them, and that would be tricky without Sam's help. Next to them lay a paper notebook, the page opened and the pen still beside it. 

There was the sound of voices from outside, and he froze. He couldn't be in here when Jack woke up. Daniel snapped the booklet shut and stuffed it into a trouser pocket. He darted out of the room and down the hallway. The temple door swung shut silently behind him. Daniel strolled into the sunlight, desperately trying to look casual.

Two Escuvaran girls were coming down the path, giggling and talking amongst each other. They could be no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, but the girls were as tall as the other natives of the planet, measuring nearly six feet in height despite their young age. Their straight black hair complimented their pale skin tone and characteristic light blue eyes. 

The girls arrived at the temple. Jack awoke with a startled snort and jerked upright. He grappled for his gun, then realised he was in danger only of being charmed to death, and buried his hands in his pockets instead.

One of the girls stepped forward with a small curtsey.

"I am Yeroon, daughter of Airtor. My mother asked me to invite you to stay with our people as long as may be necessary." She pointed at her companion. "This is my friend, Lestarta. We wish you stay may be pleasant."

Lestarta curtseyed and looked up at Jack from underneath her dark eye lashes.

"And long. We wish your stay may be long," she added, and they dissolved into a fit of giggles.

O'Neill watched the display a little helplessly. 

"Tell your mother that's real nice of her, but…"

"You may tell Airtor we are honoured to accept her invitation," Daniel cut him off swiftly, ignoring the Colonel's raised eyebrows.

The girls giggled and skipped back up the path to the village, Yeroon barely remembering her office as her mother's messenger long enough to curtsey again before they ran off.

"What was that?" O'Neill asked.

"Yeroon and Lestarta, apparently. If I were you I'd steer clear of Lestarta, by the way." 

Daniel picked up his Dictaphone and muttered some notes about the basilisk. Karttikeya's diary was burning a hole into his pocket, but he would have to wait until evening before he could try to decipher the faded writing. 

"Yeah, I noticed that. I meant the 'great, let's stay for dinner' speech." Jack said angrily.

Daniel sighed and stopped the recording. 

"Just one more day?" he asked.

* * *

O'Neill was beginning to lose the will to live. If Carter thought up just one more question on the Escuvarans' bio-modifications program, he would simply collapse in a heap of sheer insurmountable boredom. He squinted into the late afternoon sun and spent as long as possible digging his sunglasses out of his jacket pocket, putting them on with an exaggerated sigh. 

But Carter was too engrossed in the conversation to spot the hint. Medran's face suddenly lit up in a rare smile. Jack followed the man's gaze to see Ellen emerge from a hut across the village square. Medran excused himself to join her.

"Sir, they seem to have found a way to reprogram the internal cell DNA of just about every plant on this planet, and – "

Carter caught his quelling look and finished meekly: "- and they're _very_ advanced."

"Daniel wants to check out this pile of rocks some more, he thinks he can get into the temple if he can get another day or so to figure out the door mechanism," Jack said.

Carter smiled cheerfully at the thought of another day playing with the aliens' bio-toys. Jack doodled with his boot in the muddy path. 

"He thinks it's some kind of coded message in the writing, and… I don't know."

"You're not sure we should stay?" Carter asked, unable to keep the disappointment out of her voice.

"I think we should get the hell out of here while everybody is still in one piece."

He shot another look at Ellen, still deep in conversation with the envoy. Talking to her, Medran seemed almost animated, his usual reserve forgotten. Carter followed his eyes.

"I was within sight of Ellen all morning, she wasn't affected at all. Is Daniel all right?" she asked with a concerned frown.

O'Neill sighed. He would have felt a lot better if he could have just forgotten about the whole affair, but it seemed there was not getting rid off Ellen.

"He's fine. I just don't feel right about this. I can't help thinking we're asking for trouble, hanging around here." 

"The Escuvarans think it's safe. And we haven't seen anything to contradict that. Sir, perhaps it's time we simply gave this a go?"

Before Jack could answer, Medran approached them. 

"I hear Daniel Jackson will continue his exploration of the ruins in the morning. I trust you will be joining us for dinner?"

"Yeah, about that…"

Carter nudged him with one elbow. 

"Alright. I guess so. Thanks." Jack grouched.

Medran gave a small bow, arms folded in his tunic.

"I am pleased to hear it. Perhaps when you have heard a little more about our people, it will diminish your reticence." 

Sam thanked him again on behalf of the team, and he retreated to arrange their accommodation.

"Diminish my reticence?" O'Neill asked sourly.

Carter turned away to hide her smile.

"It'll be fine, Sir."

"I'll hold you to that, Carter."

* * *

_To be continued…_


	4. A Private Hope

**_A Private Hope _**

"You told them, right? No fried pet or reptile?" Jack asked again.

"They're vegetarians," Daniel repeated behind him.

All afternoon, Jack had been trying to think up a reason why they needed to go home straight away, but none had materialised. He had even considered contacting Hammond to give the General a chance to recall the team. Cooked hamster was a last resort, and even that seemed to be denied to him.

The team walked down the path to Airtor's dwelling. The elder's hut was situated in the outer circle of the village houses, and like the other dwellings it was grown out of a single modified tree stem. Instead of shooting skywards, the plant had been adapted to extend in a giant bulbous growth parallel to the ground and upwards. The dwelling was small, but contained several levels of rooms. Carter had lectured them on the plants superior insulation properties on the way through the village, and Jack was trying hard to forget the more technical details.

Airtor greeted them at the entrance and led them up a narrow step ladder to the dining area. The table, as well as all plates and utensils, were carved out of the same dark wood as the dwelling itself. Candles lit the room, and Jack saw that Yeroon and her predatory friend Lestarta were already seated. Airtor took her place at the head of the table, next to the girls, and gestured for them to sit down. 

Moments later, Medran entered, with Ellen and another Escuvaran trailing behind him. Ilthen was introduced as another bio-engineering expert, and immediately fell into conversation with Carter about the finer points of DNA-resequencing. 

"Have you found what you were looking for, Daniel Jackson?" Airtor asked mildly.

Her grey hair was braided in long plaits, and her daughter had imitated the style with very flattering results. 

"No, nothing yet. We were hoping to hear a little more about your people and village here on Escuvar," Daniel said.

Airtor seemed pleased by the request and passed it on to the girls, who were only too eager to fill Daniel in.

"We are the free people of Escuvar." Yeroon said.

"Our creed is to live as one with the forest, and to bring bounty and peace wherever we go." Lestarta informed him, her eyes glittering.

"That's nice," Jack murmured. That girl was trouble. He took a sip of the herbal tea Airtor had placed before him. It tasted like pond water, and he grimaced. 

"But have you always been here? I mean have you always lived this way? I'm just puzzled because the temple doesn't seem like the kind of thing your people would need…" 

Daniel noticed Lestarta's confused expression and tailed off. The girl averted her eyes from the archaeologist, her previous boldness forgotten. There was a brief silence.

"Then you have found nothing inside the temple to explain why it was built?" Ellen asked from the other end of the table. 

Daniel choked on his drink. 

"I haven't -…" He coughed, eyes watering behind his glasses. "I haven't actually managed to get inside the temple yet."

Ellen seemed startled, but caught herself.

"I'm sorry. I was mistaken." 

Ilthen paused in his chat with Carter. The five Escuvarans looked at Daniel, silent and grave. Jack saw Ellen exchange a look with Lestarta. Ellen gave a minute shake of the head and the girl looked back at the table, listlessly stabbing at her food.

Jack stopped chewing and swallowed, squishy vegetable slowly sliding down his throat. Parties with telepaths were definitely no fun. The Escuvarans seemed to come to a decision and as one resumed their dinner. O'Neill glared at Daniel, but the archaeologist pointedly ignored him.

"Major Carter, how did you like your tour of our growing centre?" Medran asked unnecessarily loudly. 

"Very much, thank you. I was telling Colonel O'Neill how advanced your technologies are."

"I was likewise much impressed with your mastery of the powers of the mind, Medran," Teal'c said.

The envoy smiled. "It is gift, not a skill to our people. One cannot take pride in what is given freely." 

The conversation lurched on, but O'Neill could tell from Daniel's guilty expression that something was going on. He waited until they had been despatched to their own hut for the night, a hastily abandoned two-storey structure where Carter would take the luxury of the upper chamber with the other three sharing the lower room. 

Jack held Daniel back at the entrance and let the others go inside.

"I want to know what's going on. And don't even try to lie to me. I saw the way the Escuvarans looked at you when you said you hadn't been in the temple."

"It doesn't matter." Daniel tried to walk around him and Jack grabbed his shirt sleeve.

"You bet it matters. The only way these guys can know you were in that thing is if Ellen knows. And fancy that, she _does_ know! I just wonder how?"

Daniel carefully extracted his shirt from O'Neill's grip.

"It's not what you think."

"Oh please, enlighten me." Jack hissed.

"Lestarta and Yeroon saw coming out of the temple. I thought they hadn't, but…"

Jack's shoulders slumped in relief.

"That's it? The girls saw you coming out? None of that connection shit with Ellen? Because if it's that stuff going on, we're out of here-"

"It's not, OK? It's not that."

Daniel took a deep breath. He had to sound calm, or Jack would make good on his word and haul him back to Earth before he even got a chance to look at the lab in the temple properly.

"It's Karttikeya's temple. I tried the same combination to get in as before, and it worked. Inside is just a lab. I think he was experimenting with the local fauna, and the Escuvarans picked up on his knowledge."

Jack smiled to himself. 

"And that's why they're so advanced? Isn't that something…" 

A thought made full circle in Jack's brain and materialised as a frown. 

"Why didn't you tell me about this?"

Bright moonlight fell through the branches above. The village lay tranquil and asleep, but Daniel didn't feel the stillness around him. Had he been wrong to lie to Jack? Part of him looked at it as a simple business transaction. He had needed to get into the temple. Jack would have made that difficult, if not impossible. The other part, the part that was no longer only Daniel, instinctively knew that to be wrong, and the difference grated on his mind.

He wanted the comfort of his own convictions, the safety of his own demons. His life had been reshuffled like an old deck of cards, without care or consideration, and he was tired, tired of it all.

All he had wanted was to get into the temple and find some hint, some explanation of what had happened to him. He wasn't looking for some cosmic statement of universal purpose anymore. All he wanted was for it to end. 

Jack was still waiting for him to explain. And with all the languages that he had studied and spoken, Daniel knew he didn't have the words to make his friend understand.

"I was looking for an answer," he said simply, and walked into the dwelling.


	5. Karttikeya

**_Karttikeya _**

****

_(With thanks to MMS for The Sentence)_

The wet footprints led down a narrow corridor, deep into the heart of the pyramid. Jack pulled up next to an opening in the wall and motioned for Teal'c to take point. Daniel peered cautiously around the Colonel's shoulder, ignoring the other man's angry gesture to withdraw. The Goa'ould stood bent over a grey metal cube, his back to the entrance. His hands were working frantically at the dozens of crystals in the open top panel of the device. The narrow end of the machine pointed at a Goa'ould sarcophagus, a dim light at its tip blinking owlishly with each change in the crystals' configuration. A woman was lying on the sarcophagus, motionless but for her limbs tugging uselessly at the heavy restraints around her wrists and ankles. Jack muttered a curse and Karttikeya looked around, a frown of concentration on his angular features.

"It's too late. You can't stop me now."

His voice echoed around the vast chamber. He turned a small red diamond shape in the control panel. The light at the tip of the device flickered, but this time it stayed on, its glow illuminating the Goa'ould's wry smile.

"This is only the beginning. There will be many. You will look back in time with awe and honour that were present at this moment. If I choose to let you live…"

His smile turned into a grimace of surprise and pain. The shot of blue energy from Daniel's zat crackled over his body. The Goa'ould looked down at the scorch marks on his tunic and raised his hands, his eyes burning with fury.

O'Neill shook his head.

"I hate it when they do that."

He opened fire, followed by Teal'c, and the alien was struck by a hail of bullet s. He sank to his knees with a disbelieving groan.

"You can't stop me," he gasped.

"Whatever." O'Neill gave him a final blast, but instead of slamming into the Goa'ould's body and tearing down his defences, the rounds bounced off a luminous force field and ricocheted around the room. O'Neill ducked back behind the wall until the noise had died down. When he looked back into the chamber, the Goa'ould had gone.

"He must have set up a ring transporter."

O'Neill shot the archaeologist an exasperated look. "You don't say. Carter, turn that thing off. It's time to go home."

She scuttled past him, her answer lost in the increasing vibrations emanating from the machine. She bit her lip, hands hovering over the crystal display, unsure where to start. She grabbed a random crystal, dislodged the blue fluorescent stone and dropped it to the floor. The noise continued, swelling all around her.

"Carter! You have to shut it off!"

Jack's voice was drowned out by the noise of the device. The stone of which the machine rested began to vibrate. Minute cracks appeared in the granite, and Jack watched in horror as they feathered out into the stone floor, reaching the walls as widening gaps.

"This whole place is going to come down around our ears if you don't do something, Carter!"

"I'm trying, Sir!"

She pulled another crystal from the bowels of the machine, but the sound only intensified. The woman on the stone slab lay still, watching them. Only her eyes moved. Daniel motioned to Teal'c and began to work the wrist cuffs. His knife slipped off again and again, there seemed to be no lock or seam he could prize open. Teal'c tried the same at the foot end, even pulling at the metal with his bare hands.

He looked up and shook his head.

"I cannot open these shackles, Daniel Jackson," he yelled.

The noise stopped suddenly. The vibrations petered out, and they could hear dust and lumps of stone falling from the cracks in the walls and ceiling.

"Is it over?" O'Neill asked.

Carter muttered an unlady-like curse. She dropped another crystal onto the pile before her and looked directly at Daniel.

"Get out of there."

It was the last thing he heard.

A beam of white energy burst from the machine and hit him in the chest. The heat forced him to his knees, scorching his soul, and everything in the world disappeared.

It was the first thing he heard.

Everything that had gone before had disappeared. Everything within vision, everything he had known and learned and cared about, everything he had touched and held and loved and allowed to slip away.

Daniel turned away from Carter and the room spun around him. He pulled himself up and stumbled towards the head of the stone, towards the woman lying on the sarcophagus. He knew her name now, knew so much more than a person should know about another, his mind filled with an explosion of conflicting memories. Searing pain forced him to his knees. His whole body seemed to ache, his skull the epicentre of inexplicable torture. He blinked to clear his vision, but he could still see her, Ellen, and at the same time see himself reaching out towards her. She was staring back at him, her eyes a mirror of the agony in his mind, until finally darkness engulfed him.

Daniel awoke with a startled gasp. He lay still, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling, and tried to remember where he was. Slowly, memory returned and he moved his head to see the two shapes to his left. Both Teal'c and O'Neill seemed fast asleep. Daniel wriggled out of his sleeping bag and padded barefoot across the room to the door.

He stepped into the night, inhaling deeply. The air was cold in his lungs and cleared away the remnants of the dream. He shivered a little and stretched the muscles in his back, enjoying the silence. The sky over Escuvar was hung studded with brilliant stars. The planet's moon seemed close enough to touch, the wind chasing giant cumulus formations across its rugged landscapes. Daniel stood for a while, silently gazing at the spectacle above.

Without warning, he began to feel queasy. He leaned against the outside wall of the house with his hands on his knees and his head hung low, waiting for the nausea to pass. The pain was swift and unexpected. It turned like a shard of frozen glass in his mind, boring deeper with each breath. A familiar sense of disorientation rose from his stomach as time and space shifted and his mind tried to wrap itself around the universe from two different directions, stretching to breaking point.

There were voices further down the pathway, a man and a woman talking in the night. The kaleidoscope of the universe shifted another degree and Daniel no longer needed to hear to know what they were saying. Ellen's voice echoed in his mind as she bid Medran goodnight and they separated. He could feel the soft breeze on her skin and as if it were his own, close enough to touch but galaxies apart, and the hairs on his neck rose.

Ellen rounded a corner and saw him, the colour draining from her face. Daniel's throat ran dry. The dizziness had gone, replaced by an instant of crystalline clarity, and everything changed.

Once more he could see the world through her eyes, and knew that whatever he felt or thought, she felt it too. The knowledge was involuntary, without control or escape, sweeping as the flood-swollen rivers of Egypt. He could feel himself drowning in her, his mind clogged with the turmoil of her emotions, filling his thoughts like silt. All clarity was lost in these eddies of her soul, until he found a thought, sharp as flint, and clung to it. He didn't need to say the words. His mind formed the command almost unconsciously.

Like a hiss of cold breath, his thoughts dropped into Ellen's mind, swirling like dry ice. The command was short, and sharp. A surgical cut, too deep and clean to feel the pain before she could shut him out again and raise the wall, the mental image that had separated them throughout the day. Medran's gift.

Daniel watched her turn back uncertainly down the path. Within moments, Medran was by her side. The Escuvaran cast a glance over his shoulder, and his eyes narrowed. He put one arm around Ellen's shoulder, whispering to her.

Daniel slipped back into the hut and crawled into his sleeping bag. He stared at the ceiling, trying to make out the grain of the wood in the darkness. He would not go to sleep and risk another one's nightmares again.

_TBC_


	6. On Thin Ice

**_On Thin Ice_**

Medran emerged from the forest and hurried along the path to the temple, his grey robes rustling with each step. He found O'Neill sitting in front of the entrance and stopped, his body casting a shadow over the other man.

"I would like a word with Daniel Jackson," Medran said stiffly.

The colonel spat out the grass blade he had been chewing on and gave the Escuvaran a wolvish grin.

"That's handy, 'cause I would like a word with _you_. You said there wouldn't be any side effects. You said it would be fine. Does that look like _fine_ to you?"

He pointed an accusing finger at Daniel.

The archaeologist, though looking a little washed out, tried to head him off, but Medran interrupted his assurances.

"It seems in your concern for your charge you are forgetting _mine_. Because unlike Daniel Jackson, my charge is not fine."

He walked around O'Neill and poked Daniel in the chest with one long finger.

"I want to know what to know what you did last night."

Medran's voice was low but had none of its usual mildness. His pale blue eyes gleamed with determination. O'Neill muttered a curse and stepped between the men.

"Hold on a second. Nobody has done anything to your precious charge. Daniel never even spoke to her."

Medran ignored him and built himself up to his full height, towering over the archaeologist by half a foot.

"What did you do to her?"

Daniel jerked away from the Escuvaran, almost banging his head on the temple wall. Medran inched forward, his teeth bared in a grim smile.

"She is strong and she wants to protect you, but she can be no match for our abilities. I will find out what you did. And you had better not be here when I do."

He turned on his heels and marched back towards the village, his tunic flapping in the wind.

Jack whistled softly through his teeth.

"Nice." He clapped a hand on Daniel's shoulder. "Danny-boy, that's it. We're out of here."

He grabbed his radio.

"Teal'c, Carter, get packing. We're going home."

He only got static in response.

"I haven't finished with the lab," Daniel bristled.

"You know what, I don't care. You want any of this stuff, take it with you."

O'Neill walked around the clearing in to get a better reception. He had known it would be mistake to come here, and if it had been up to him, they would have locked the whole damn planet out of the dialling computer months ago. Right after dumping Ellen here, in fact. He checked his watch. If they made good time to the gate he could be in the canteen before the breakfast menu closed.

"Daniel, get going. We'll meet Carter in the village."

The archaeologist grabbed another handful of data crystals and stuffed them into his backpack, muttering under his breath. It was always like that. Jack had made up his mind, and trying to talk to him now was like trying to make a goat solve stochastic equations. He was on to something, he knew it, and if he could just get enough information together he might actually be able to make sense of what Karttikeya had used this place for. Jack was calling again from the entrance. Daniel pulled out the digital camera for a last minute sweep of the room.

"Just a second, I need to…"

Then it happened. For a fraction of a second he stood in a pool of intense fear and pain. Then silence. His mind blanked and he lost his grip on the camera, stumbling forward to steady himself on a lab bench.

O'Neill poked his head around the corner. He rushed into the room.

"Daniel? Are you OK?"

Daniel swore softly, shaking his head to clear his vision.

"Something just happened."

"Yeah. You dropped the camera."

O'Neill picked it up and wiped dust off the lens.

Daniel straightened slowly as his world shifted back into focus.

"No. Something just happened. Call Teal'c."

Jack looked at him impatiently.

"I can't get them. Damn radiation." He reconsidered. "Damn planet."

Daniel's knees turned to jelly and he slid down the temple wall to the ground, shaking uncontrollably. He felt cold, colder than he had in his entire life, and at the same time alone, despite Jack's warm hand on his arm. He knew the other man was talking to him, but he couldn't hear him. All he could feel was the cold cutting him to the bone and a crushing sense of desolation. Then, in one breath the world came rushing back and it struck him: Ellen.

Daniel turned away from the silence in his mind and looked at Jack.

"What just happened?" the colonel demanded.

"Something… I don't know. Something's wrong." Daniel's own voice seemed to come from very far away.

"Crap." O'Neill worked the radio again. "I can't raise Teal'c and Carter. I've had about enough of this Medran guy. If that's his idea of cosmic justice…"

Daniel worked his way back up to a standing position, leaning heavily against the wall. At least the dizziness was diminishing, if not the cold.

"I can't feel Ellen anymore," he said softly.

O'Neill paused. "I thought you can't do that anyway. That was the whole point of leaving her here."

Daniel shook his head.

"Yes, but not like this. Not like… Something's wrong."

Jack looked at him dubiously.

"You look like shit. Are you good to go?"

Daniel pushed himself off the wall and walked out of the temple. The bright sunshine warmed his clothes but didn't seem to penetrate his skin. The heat felt incongruous, out of place, and he was glad when they reached the cool darkness of the forest. O'Neill was walking a few paces behind him with Daniels' backpack slung over his shoulder and constantly muttering into the radio, with no response.

Medran met them at the entrance to the village clearing. He was ashen-faced and his normally impeccable tunic was stained with smears of dirt.

"They took the girls," he said without preamble. "Yeroon and Lestarta. And Ellen. They took Ellen." For a moment a look almost like panic rose in his eyes, and he controlled himself, smoothing his tunic with one hand.

He looked back at the empty clearing.

"You will be pleased to hear that both Teal'c and Major Carter are still amongst us."

His voice broke and he turned stiffly to disappear into his hut.

Aitor broke away from a small group in front of her dwelling, her expression deeply saddened but collected.

"This is now a village in mourning. We hope you will respect our grief and leave."

_TBC_


	7. The Envoy of Escuvar

**_The Envoy of Escuvar_**

"We were overpowered, O'Neill."

The white bandage on Teal'c's arm was slowly turning red, but the Jaffa seemed unaffected. O'Neill guessed Frasier wouldn't have let him out unless she thought the symbiote would take of the wound. Carter had been less lucky. Jack whinced involuntarily as she touched her hand to the violet bruise on her left temple.

"Carter?"

"There were seven or eight of them, Sir. They embarked out of a light cruiser class ship and headed for the village. They went straight for the women, and only shot Teal'c when he opened fire."

"They were gone before we could stop them." Teal'c completed the account.

"Goa'ould?" Jack asked.

Sam shook her head, and immediately wished she hadn't.

"No, Sir. They were wearing a kind of full body armour. We couldn't actually see them, but I would guess they were not Jaffa."

"They were not." Teal'c said.

"That doesn't make any sense. Why would anybody fly all the way to Escuvar to steal three girls?"

Jack bit back a sharp retort. At least Daniel seemed back to normal, including the unhelpful questions that led nowhere.

"Any ideas? Anyone?" O'Neill asked instead.

Teal'c poked at his bandage.

"Why would they take Ellen? And leave Major Carter behind?"

Jack shrugged.

"Maybe they just didn't fancy her."

That wasn't strictly his personal view. For his part, he was damn glad she was still here and in one piece, if a little dented at present.

The claxons of the gate sounded before Carter could put her answer together. Moments later, a sergeant showed Medran into the briefing room. He wore the same stained tunic as in the morning. His black hair was dishevelled and there were deep shadows under his eyes.

Hammond seemed a little astounded at the man's appearance, but quickly held out his hand to offer his condolences. Medran barely listened.

"Help me," he burst out.

He was guided to a chair and Carter pressed a cup of coffee into his hand. He took it without thinking and sipped the dark liquid. The bitter taste seemed to restore him to his senses and he looked up.

"Consensus has been reached. Escuvar will accept our losses in the interest of peace." He took a deep breath. "I have tried to persuade the council that such a loss, the loss of our people, is unacceptable, but in vain. We have not the technology to pursue such an enemy, and if we did… We are not war faring people. Escuvar is giving up our people for dead. I…" A smile died on his lips. "I cannot do that." He met the Colonel's eyes. "But neither can I change what has happened. Without your help."

"Perhaps if you'd start from the beginning…" O'Neill murmured.

Medran took another sip of coffee.

"We call them Ousters. They come, every five or six years, and they take, sometimes one or two, sometimes more."

Teal'c raised a scornful eyebrow.

"You knew you were likely to sustain an attack, yet you were undefended. I do not understand."

"There had been no raids of this kind in several decades. Certainly not in my lifetime. We were not prepared…"

Medran ran a hand through his dark hair and closed his eyes. O'Neill almost felt sorry for the man despite himself.

"Yeah, we kinda noticed that. General, I propose we go after those bastards and get the Escuvaran ladies back."

"And Ellen." Daniel added quietly. He could feel the Escuvaran looking at him, the beginning of hope in his pale eyes.

"Yeah. And her," Jack conceded with a side-ways glance at Medran. None of the other Escuvarans had unravelled the way the envoy had after the attack. Perhaps hanging out with humans hadn't been good for his oh-so-advanced brain structure.

"And how do you propose to do that, Colonel?" Hammond asked.

"Oh. That. Medran, do you know where they were taken?"

The Escuvaran, half-elated with the prospect of rescue, slumped back into his seat.

"No. We are not familiar with Ouster technology. They travel fast and without leaving any trace. They could be anywhere by now. They could be dead."

The tension seeped out of Medran's shoulders and he seemed to find something very interesting to look at in the grain of the wooden table.

"Major Carter? Any ideas?" the General asked.

"We could go back to the planet, Sir, and check if the ship left an energy signature behind. But it's a long shot."

She shrugged doubtfully, but it was good enough for Medran.

"Then you will help?"

"Hold your horses. I said we'd try. No promises." Jack rose and patted the Escuvaran on the back in passing. "Carter, get what you need. We leave in two hours."

Carter positioned her tripod in the clearing and pointed the lense of the stratoscope skyward. Ilthen peered dubiously into its mechanical eye.

"And this will tell you where the girls were taken?"

Carter looked at the read-outs and adjusted a few controls.

"Well, it will allow us to trace the ship, but only if I can lock on to the energy signature generated by the ship's reactor."

Ilthen looked blank.

"She means 'yes'," O'Neill put in helpfully.

"Actually I meant 'maybe', Sir. This signature is very faint, I'm hardly getting anything at all. They're certainly not using a naquada reactor in their ship."

"I suppose that's good thing. At least they're not Goa'ould." He grimaced. "And bad, if we can't find them. Keep trying."

O'Neill trotted off. Carter was already fiddling with her controls again, with Ilthen looking over her shoulder, a doubtful expression on his long face.

"You seem tense," he said after a moment, bringing her out of her concentration.

Carter forced a smile. "I'm trying to help find your people."

The Escuvaran digested that and said at length: "Yeroon and Lestarta are lost to us."

"Hopefully not just yet." She squinted into the 'scope, willing the faint squiggly lines in her display to solidify into a decent lock on the ship.

"Our village is consoled to the loss," Ilthen droned on. "The memory of Yeroon and Lestarta will live on in our minds. It would be well for you to accept your loss also."

Carter straightened. "They're not dead yet!"

"How do you know that?" Ilthen asked matter-of-factly. Carter stared at him incredulously.

"I'm sorry, I really need to get to work here. If you'll excuse me?"

Ilthen bowed with a smile, oblivious to the sharpness in her voice. She hunkered back down over the 'scope, furiously twiddling the digital controls. Jack walked across the green, watching her work. After a few minutes silence he said: "Any luck yet?"

"Nope."

He waited for more, but the silence stretched. "Carter?"

Sam gave up on the 'scope. "I don't know, Sir. It's almost as if they don't want us to find them. They're so…"

"Arrogant? Annoying?"

"I was going to say fatalistic. And the cruiser's signature gets weaker and fizzles out completely less than 600 yards from the surface. It's not looking good, Sir."

O'Neill shrugged a little helplessly. He didn't like to see Carter so pessimistic, it wasn't like her.

"Well, keep going. You'll figure something out."

She met his eyes reluctantly. "I don't think we have a choice. If Dr Frasier is right, Daniel and Ellen are inextricably linked by Karttikeya's device. Their brain chemistries have adjusted to one another, they have become interdependent. The Escuvarans have managed to turn down the volume, but we don't know what happens if the signal dies altogether…"

"What are you saying, Carter?"

"Sir, we were hoping the Tokra'h would make sufficient progress in their studies to destroy the link between them safely before it ever came to this. Escuvar was always only meant to be a stop-gap solution, until we could figure out something better."

"Are you telling me that we don't get Ellen back in one piece, Daniel will die with her?"

Carter swallowed and looked away. "It's a possibility."

O'Neill's mouth was a thin line. "Figure this thing out."

_TBC… and please don't slate me for the garbled science in this one, I'm the first person to admit I have no idea what I'm talking about. _


	8. Explorers

**Explorers**

Medran slowly rounded the hill, automatically avoiding tree roots and fallen branches. At the edge of the forest, he hesitated. His face was impassive, but his mind was filled with images and thoughts that bore no relation to the 33 years that he had lived in the peace and tranquillity of the village below.

In the grassy clearing, the stone structure of the temple stood indifferent to the consolation of sunlight as the salty ache in Medran's chest. He walked down the last few metres of the path and entered the dark ruin. He didn't call out, but went straight to the laboratory. Daniel Jackson stood frowning over a small pile of paper sheaves, trying to read the small handwriting in the light of his torch.

Medran waited. He waited to feel, something, anything, at the sight of the man who he knew only through the pain he had caused Ellen, but his heart remained numb. "Major Carter not been able to detect a trace of the Ouster ship. Their energy signature may have dissipated too far," Medran said tonelessly.

Daniel flicked off the torch, his face in shadow.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Are you?"

They looked at each other in the dim light. Medran picked up a data crystal, his slender fingers caressing the edges of the disc. He spoke without looking at the other man.

"I have often wondered why something that is a source of constant support to our people brought Ellen and you such misery. I can only believe that it was because neither of you were prepared. Prepared to truly see another human being, the beauty and the wonder, and the imperfections of another soul." He gestured vaguely towards the village. "Our children grow up with the voices of many around them. We don't doubt our destiny or the love we are given. We can hear the truth in the words spoken by the heart. Your people are different." He shrugged and raised his eyes. "As Ellen is different from anything I have ever seen."

Daniel pushed up his glasses. "We will find her. Sam will figure something out…"

Medran's chin jerked up in a flash of anger, but at the sound of footsteps from the passage, he bowed his head, hands folded in the sleeves of the tunic.

Jack ducked into the room. He saw the Escuvaran and suppressed an inward sigh.

"Medran told you," Jack said.

Daniel didn't meet his eyes. "Yes, he did."

"Carter hasn't been able to do much with that energy signature yet, and… Medran, is there anything else you can tell us, anything that might help?"

"I have told you all we know."

"What about their home world, they must have a base somewhere?"

The tall man shook his head.

"If they do, we would never be able to find it." He pointed helplessly at the gadgetry around them. "This is not how we live our lives. We are not explorers."

He fell silent, his gaze fixed on a spot on the ground.

"So this is it? You're letting them go?" O'Neill asked.

He looked at the Escuvaran, willing him to come up with a sudden recollection of a folk tale or children's story dredged up out of their collective memories, anything that would give them a fighting chance to find the raiders. But the alien remained stubbornly silent.

"I… I'm not sure, but I might be able to do something," Daniel said.

"Did you find something?" Jack waved one hand at the papers strewn across the work surfaces around them. The archaeologist followed his gaze, colouring a little.

"Uh, no. Actually, I meant Ellen."

Jack started to protest, but Daniel went on quickly: "If I could make contact with her, we might be able to establish where they are and…"

"No way. We'll get them back some other way. I don't care if we have to scour the entire galaxy to find them, but you're not doing that… that _mind thing_ again!"

"How?" Daniel asked quietly. "How are you going to get them back?"

They argued about it all the way back to the village.

"Carter, tell me you have found something!"

O'Neill could tell the answer from her face, though her eyes lit up when Daniel explained his insane plan to her.

"That might actually work, Sir."

"I was hoping you might have a better idea," O'Neill said acidly.

She had disassembled the 'scope and slammed the lid shut on its carry case.

"Nope. Have you?"

The Colonel opened his mouth to speak, and shut it again.

"I think we're out of options, Jack." Daniel said.

O'Neill glowered at the younger man, but he seemed determined.

"Oh for crying out loud! Alright, you have a go. One attempt." He held up one finger in Daniel's face for emphasis. "One! Carter, you work out something else. _Quickly_. I'll call Hammond and let him know what's going on."

He marched out of the clearing. Medran had followed the exchange, his blue eyes gleaming.

"You do not wish to do this," he said softly.

Daniel buried his hands in his pockets.

"Honestly, I don't know what I'm doing. I just don't see that have a choice."

"I can assure of the gratitude of all my people. But perhaps it would be equally true to say how well it pleases me to be always surprised by your kind." He bowed with a small smile. "Escuvar will be happy to provide any assistance you might require."

_TBC…_


	9. The Nebula

**The Nebula **

Out of the darkness, there was light. Diamond sparks of stars erupted out of the eternal night, illuminating clouds of pink and purple gases swirling across the horizon in the ever-changing formations of a new dawn. The vista was framed by grey solid ribs running along the edges of the hull window, and up into the ceiling to fuse into a curved spine along the centre of the cell. 

Below, the ground was covered in large scales, dulled by hundreds of feet that had walked upon them. Light fell into the cell and Daniel turned towards it. A man appeared at the doorway, hesitating before he strode into the room. And before Daniel could reach out, before he could warn the woman crouching on the floor or make himself known, the connection ended in a glaring flash of pain. Daniel shuddered and took a gasping breath. 

He opened his eyes, slowly focussing on the blurred light of the candle in front of him. 

"Did you manage to make contact, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked. 

Daniel rose from his cross-legged position, fishing for his glasses in his shirt pocket. 

"Uh, yes and no. Just images of some kind of nebula, pink gases... nothing specific." 

"What kind of nebula?" Carter asked. 

"A pink one?" 

She snorted in disgust. 

"That's not really helping, is it?" O'Neill muttered with a frown.

"I don't know, Sir. I can check the outlying regions of Escuvar, but without any parameter of the ship's speed and capacity, that doesn't really narrow it down much." 

The Colonel got up and shook out his legs. "Get on it. Daniel, get some sleep. You look like crap." 

Their footfalls were silent on the solid wood despite their army boots. At the door, Medran turned back, his eyes alight in the glow of the Escuvaran moon. 

"Thank you for trying." 

He ducked out of the opening in the tree dwelling and disappeared down the narrow walkway. Daniel lit another candle and emptied his back pack onto the low table in the centre of the room. Data discs and lab reports, all filled with Karttikeya's meticulous handwriting, spilled over the dark wood. The answer had to be in the Gou'ald's notes. They had tried everything else, and a this point, any hint would do. He went through the crystals, discarding any that dealt with Karttikeya's experiments on the local fauna. It was humans they were interested in, not animals. The paper notes were almost exclusively about Karttikeya's attempts to increase the Escuvaran's telepathic abilities, and their usefulness as his servants. The records stopped abruptly several generations ago, and there was no mention of any raids or neighbouring aliens of any kind. He let the papers sink. There was no answer in the notes, nothing that could help them. 

The archaeologist took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, suddenly tired. In one of the neighbouring dwellings, a child woke and was soothed back to sleep. The only sounds were the calls of the native night birds. He closed his eyes and the universe slowed. There was a silence and a stillness, the deep calm of water before the pebble breaks the surface and turns it to motion. 

There was a dull ache and he automatically moved his jaw, testing for mobility. Only the pain wasn't his own. He stepped out of the sensation and his vision cleared into two different realities, separate and distinct. Before him, candle flames flickered and were reflected in the polished grain of the table, but the homely scene was overlaid by ribbed hull wall with large round window leading out into the brilliancy of the nebula. He turned to see Ellen sitting on the scaly floor, her back wedged between a pair of wall ribs. There was a deepening bruise on her left cheek. 

"I didn't think you'd be back," she said calmly. 

"I know. I'm sorry." 

She shrugged off his apology as if they were talking about the weather. "It was never meant to be." 

Daniel wanted to tell her that things were different now, that he finally understood, but this wasn't the time. 

"Do you know where we are?" he asked instead. 

She shook her head and he looked out of the window again, where the nebula circulated and heaved against the black sky in majestic indifference. The cell door opened and two Ousters entered. They were dressed in a kind of flexible body armour. The surface of their gear looked soft and organic and at the same time rock solid. One of the men pulled off his face mask. It made a strange sucking noise and Daniel realised the suits were their life support system. 

The Ouster's black hair was braided in tight corn rows against his skull, and under his eye brows, his pale blue eyes were almost fluorescent in the dim light of the room. He stood silently for a moment, exchanged a glance with his companion, and crouched before Ellen. He spoke a single word, his voice reverberating around the room. Ellen stared at him, defiant. He spoke again, his tone more impatient. Ellen shook her head, and slowly said the Escuvaran word for No. 

A startled expression crossed the man's face and he got to his feet. He left the room with a muttered command to his companion. The other stepped forward, gave Ellen a cursory slap and slammed the cell door shut behind him. 

"That wasn't too bad," Ellen mumbled, on hand on her chin. 

Daniel knelt beside her. "I will find you." He touched his hand to the bruise on her face. "I promise." 

He opened his eyes and the solidity of the room rushed back with almost painful clarity. Daniel jumped to his feet and nearly fell when his leg, asleep from awkward position he had been sitting in, refused to carry his weight. He ignored the tingling and limped out onto the walkway. He had to find the others and tell them. Medran was surprised, but quickly agreed to summon the rest of the team. Daniel hopped back into the dwelling, pacing excitedly until the others filed in. 

"I know how to find them," he burst out. 

"You know where they are? How?" Sam asked. 

"_How_ doesn't really matter," Daniel said with a sideways glance at O'Neill. "And I don't exactly know where they are, but I know how to find them." He paused, four faces turned towards him expectantly. "They're Escuvarans." 

"None of our people would do such a thing," Medran spluttered indignantly. 

"That's it? They're Escuvarans?" Jack asked in disbelief. Daniel waved him off impatiently. "It's their eyes. Sam, Teal'c, you saw the raiding party. Did you see their eyes?" 

Medran nodded slowly, understanding dawning on his face. 

"They were blue. Like the Escuvarans," Teal'c said. 

"I think that's why they took Ellen and left Sam behind. Her eyes had changed, and they thought she was one of them." 

Jack looked from one to the other. "So they took her because her eyes had changed to that creepy colour?" 

Medran gave him a piqued look and O'Neill tailed off to a mumble. "Anyway, so how does that help us?" 

"Sir, if the Ousters display the same eye colouring, then they must be exposed to the same form of radiation." "Then you can find them?" The hope in the Escuvaran's face was almost pathetic. Sam smiled at him. 

"We have a good chance." 

"Uh, Carter?" 

"Sir?" 

"About that radiation thing. How long does it take before it makes your eyes change?" 

She suppressed a smile. "I would worry about it, Sir." 

_TBC…_


	10. Ousters

**Ousters**  
  
The Tokra'h ship sliced soundlessly through clouds of age-old gases and star dust.  
  
"I have never seen anything like this before," Medran whispered in an awed voice.  
  
Jack jostled around the Escuvaran for a better view. "Well, if you could peel yourself off the window we might be able to search for that nebula Daniel saw..."  
  
Carter didn't look up from the display in front of Jacob in the pilot seat.  
  
"Actually, Sir, our instruments are going to detect any nebula long before we will be able to see it."  
  
"I knew that." Jack pulled a face, but the Escuvaran had barely listened to the exchange. His eyes never left the glittering stars scattered across the darkness, an expression of childlike delight on his usually inanimate features.  
  
"There are those among us who believe that it was wrong to allow your kind to meet with us. That we should stayed amongst ourselves. You are not like us... ...but they were wrong." He touched his fingers to the screen separating them from the vacuum outside. "I must return to Escuvar and bring back these memories. My people must learn what marvels the world is capable of. We will never be alone again on Escuvar."  
  
"Sam, I think I've got something here."  
  
A quick look over Jacob's shoulder confirmed it. "This is the type of radiation we were scanning for. With a bit of luck our nebula should be straight ahead."  
  
The ship turned and Medran drew a sharp breath, stepping back from the window. The nebula rose before them, a swirling mass off dusts and gases, mingled with the debris of stars and planets. Daniel looked briefly over other the man's shoulder.  
  
"_Told_ you it was pink," he murmured.  
  
Jacob hit a button and released the ship's controls. "We are cloaked and holding our position."  
  
Sam was still focussed on the sensors. "What is _that_?"  
  
"What is what?" O'Neill asked.  
  
She pointed to a cluster of dark specs on her scanner, barely visible to the naked eye as blurred black shapes in the outer rim of the nebula.  
  
"I don't think that's part of the gas formations."  
  
On the display, the objects seemed to ripple out and then contract again, as if drawn in by an invisible force at the centre of the formation.  
  
O'Neill frowned at the screen. "Ousters?"  
  
"I don't know, Sir."  
  
Jacob took the ship closer, and the team watched in silence as the shapes grew bigger and bigger and finally loomed before them as a giant spider's web of dozens of interconnected ships, each linked to a central hub by a thick umbilical cord and floating gently in the gaseous movements of the nebula like leaves on a pond.  
  
O'Neill cleared his throat. "That's a lot of ships."  
  
Jacob checked the ship's cloak. They could not afford to be discovered while they played sitting duck to an armada of hostile vessels.  
  
"What is your plan?", the Gou'ald asked sharply.  
  
The silence seemed to echo around the ship.  
  
Jack shook his head. "We can't take on a whole fleet of ships. We don't even know if the girls are here. Do we?"  
  
Medran had been looking out at the mass of alien ships, his eyes alight in fierce concentration. "It is too far. I cannot be certain. Can you take us closer?"  
  
They crept up on the flotilla, all quiet as if the enemy might be able to hear them through the thick hull of the Tokra'h cruiser. Some of the ships had formed small conglomerations away from the hub, all interlinked by their own umbilicals and usually only connected with the large central ship through a single bridging vessel. After a moment's consideration, Medran pointed to a cluster of five ships bobbing on the outskirts of the main formation.  
  
"Yeroon is there. I cannot be certain about Lestarta or Ellen," he said in a carefully neutral voice.  
  
"Which ship exactly?" Jack asked, but Medran shook his head.  
  
"I would have to be closer."  
  
Jacob carefully navigated the ship towards a vacant umbilical floating at the edge of the ship formation. The connector seemed to sense their presence, it hesitated and then sucked onto the air lock of the Tokra'h ship with a faint clink.  
  
Jacob released his controls, relieved. "That was easy."  
  
The team geared up in space suits and assembled by the air lock. Medran shifted uncomfortably in the stiff suit. The lock cycled and he put on his helmet. His long fingers found the communications panel on the left sleeve, moving swiftly across the controls, shutting off the channels to all but Daniel.  
  
"I can find Yeroon and Lestarta, but I cannot find Ellen. You can."  
  
There was no plea in his voice, but his eyes burnt bright cobalt behind his visor. Daniel gave a single nod, and Medran ducked through the lock behind Teal'c.  
  
He looked back, baring his teeth in the mirthless grin. "I trust you with my life, Daniel Jackson. Keep it well."  
  
Before the archaeologist could answer, the Escuvaran had stepped into the Ouster ship's umbilical. They slithered and slipped down the alien cord, often losing their footing in the fluid movements of the umbilical, but its residual gravity ensured that the winding turns never dislodged them completely. They arrived at the Ouster airlock, panting slightly from the exertion. Jack motioned for them to stand back and took point with Teal'c. His voice came hollow over the comm channel.  
  
"Okay, folks. We don't know what we're going to find in there. Teal'c, Sam, you go after the girls. Medran, you're with them. Stay close, no hero tactics. Daniel, you're with me."  
  
He touched a gloved hand to a single glowing control at the side of the air lock. They tumbled into the increased gravity of the alien ship and landed on the scaly floor in an undignified heap.  
  
O'Neill muttered a curse and pulled himself up quickly, pointing his zat in all directions. The corridor was empty and seemed to run parallel to the ship's hull. Medran led Teal'c and Sam to the right. Daniel gestured towards to the other direction, and they scurried along the narrow passage.  
  
At each smaller corridor leading towards the centre of the ship, Jack checked for the ship's occupants, and their progress was painfully slow to Daniel. At one junction, O'Neill pulled him back forcibly. He couldn't hear the other man's disgusted hiss, but the expression behind his visor was clear enough. The two men hunkered at the wall of the walkway while two alien voices hovered precariously near. Their language seemed similar to the native tongue of Escuvar, but too different for Daniel to form an instant understanding. He popped his head around the corner for a closer look.  
  
O'Neill jerked him back to safety and remained a firm grip on his shoulder until the alien voices had disappeared. Daniel waited, staring at the wall opposite. It was made of the same greyish, strangely organic looking material he had seen in Ellen's cell. The ship seemed to have full gravity, and the figures had not been wearing space suits. He pressed a button and pushed up his visor. The air tasted stale and strangely spicey, but as far as he could tell it wasn't toxic or otherwise harmful. O'Neill stared at him, his eyes bulging.  
  
"Are you insane?" he rasped over the comm.  
  
"I don't think so, Jack."  
  
O'Neill's mouth worked, but in the end he merely undid his own visor. "Have you finished experimenting now?" he asked acidly.  
  
They continued down the corridor and along a crossway, gently easing themselves into the bowels of the ship.  
  
"How much further?" Jack whispered.  
  
Daniel paused with his back pressed against the wall. He could feel Ellen, almost taste her presence in his mind. She was in her cell, the same one as before. She was alone. He could feel the cold of the floor beneath her legs, her seasick sense of desolation... He shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut, ignoring the sullen ache throbbing behind his forehead .His mind swam from the onslaught of two separate realities. He exhaled, slowly and deliberately, and the two versions of his universe slowly merged into one like two sectors of an overlapping map. Daniel opened his eyes and motioned for Jack to follow.  
  
They came to a halt in front of an unguarded grey door. Daniel prodded at the symbols on the touch pad and it slipped open soundlessly.  
  
"I don't like this. Too easy."  
  
But then Jack stepped into the cell, his zat sweeping the room before he nodded at its occupant.  
  
Ellen's eyes widened in surprise. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"That is _such _a good question." Jack barked into his radio for Carter to report. He was answered by static crackle.  
  
"It won't work here. Radiation," Daniel pointed at the nebula outside. Ellen rubbed her wrists, sore from where the restraints had bitten into her skin.  
  
"Are you good to go?" Jack asked.  
  
Her answer was drowned by a loud swishing sound. It started from the corridor behind them, followed by a green energy bolt erupting from the gangway. It slammed into the floor, inches from O'Neill's left foot. Daniel slapped the door pad and it closed reluctantly, shuddering under the barrage of energy bolts. O'Neill swore heartily.  
  
"I _knew_ this was too easy. Did you see how many?" he asked the archaeologist.  
  
"Six. Maybe more."  
  
O'Neill grabbed his radio. "Carter, we could use a little help here." Static hissed over the ether. "Oh for crying out loud! What sort of goddamn planet is this?"  
  
"Technically, it's a nebula. It's just a diffuse mass of interstellar dust and gases..."  
  
"Will you shut up?" He turned from the younger man to Ellen. "Any bright ideas?"  
  
She gave him a fierce grin despite her split lip. "I thought you were supposed to be the rescue mission?"

_TBC... Bear with me, folks. Final chapter coming up shortly._   
_Pics_


	11. Unchartered Territory

**Unchartered Territory**

Medran halted in mid-step, turned and nearly collided with the Major behind him. He shuffled the weight of the unconscious girl in his arms. There was a faint sheen of sweat on his forehead, but his face was impassive.

"We must turn another way."

Carter had regained her balance, but not her poise.

"Are you insane? That way leads back into the ship. We have to get to the airlock and meet up with the others."

It was only a matter of time before the Ousters figured out that their loot had been taken.

But Medran remained firm. "O'Neill will not be there. We must go. Now."

"How do you know this?" Carter was stared down by his impossibly blue eyes.

"There is no time," he whispered urgently. "Do you choose to believe me?"

She nodded reluctantly, and he turned to Yeroon tugging at his sleeve.

"Are you certain?" the girl asked in a small voice.

A smile broke free on his face, only to disappear instantly.

"Go with Teal'c. I will be back."

He placed Lestarta's body into the Jaffa's arms and briefly watched the small group hasten along the gangway before he pulled Carter in the opposite direction. They raced down the corridor, delving deeper into the bowels of the ship, following ever smaller passages only to duck back out into the main corridor framing the hull, often within ear shot but always out of sight of the raiders. Carter would have liked to ask the Escuvaran how he knew when to dodge out of the passage or how he knew his way in the maze of the Ouster vessel, but she was too winded. She only knew she had been right to trust him when she heard the sound of the raiders' plasma guns.

"They're in there."

The Escuvaran nodded towards a door besieged by at least a dozen Ousters, most of them in full body armour. Their weapon fire left deep singe marks, and the door shook harder with each bolt of green lightning.

He gripped her arm and whispered: "Can you immobilise them? All of them?"

Carter pulled a grenade from her pack and motioned for Medran to lower his visor. The Escuvaran's eyes widened, but the obeyed. The grenade rolled into the corridor, spraying grey fumes among the Ousters. One of them shouted a warning and took a shot at the grenade. It fractured and released its gas in a cloud of coughs and yells. One by one, the raiders dropped to the ground, motionless. Carter and Medran carefully picked their way across the fallen aliens. The door shuddered to a halt with a tired hiss and they squeezed into the room, trailing wisps of gas.

Medran rushed forward, but the smile on his face froze when he saw Ellen, one hand on Daniel's arm, the other raised in mid-conversation. He bowed awkwardly in her direction. "Escuvar is pleased to find you well."

"Escuvar is going to be a lot less pleased if we don't out of here_ right now_." O'Neill muttered. "Carter, what took you so long?"

The corridors were deserted, and they hurried on in strained silence. At the airlock, they were greeted by Yeroon. She ran towards Medran, relief plain on her young face.

"It's all clear…"

Medran raised his zat and swung around in one smooth motion, aiming behind him as if to shoot at the team. Jack jerked forward, but the shot was fired before he had time to react. Behind them, an Ouster crumpled to the floor.

"Nice shot." The Colonel padded Medran on the back and walked past him to the umbilical.

"Yeroon saw him, not I," Medran answered absently. His eyes were on the girl. "I believe I instructed you to wait _in the ship_," he said sharply and pulled her towards the umbilical.

A war whoop, piercing and shrill, cut through the air. Medran straightened to his full height and turned. From the last junction behind them, a dozen Ousters led by a single tall figure marched towards the airlock. They wore full body armour but no helmets. Their presence was so overwhelming they didn't need to raise their weapons.

"I think perhaps we should go now…"

Medran cut the archaeologist off with a single gesture. He moved to the front of the group, meeting the raiders head-on. Their leader brought the party to a halt. She had the same tall build that all Escuvaran's seem to share, high cheekbones and the same cobalt blue eyes. As the other Ousters they had seen, her black hair was braided into neat corn rows. No outward sign of authority distinguished her from the group of warriors behind her, but every fibre of her body spoke of pride and leadership.

For a few long heartbeats, Medran waited. Then he bowed, almost imperceptibly. In the silence that followed, the Ouster leader returned the gesture. Her blue eyes flared, and she turned abruptly. Her men followed her down the corridor, their progress silent except for the sound of their feet on the grey scaly floor.

Medran walked to the umbilical, seemingly unhurried.

"Now we leave."

He pushed Yeroon through the lock in front of him.

"You negotiated a truce with the Ousters is less than 20 seconds?" Jack asked again. "Come on. What happened? I mean what _really_ happened."

The Escuvaran allowed himself a small smile. "The pleasures of telepathy, Colonel O'Neill."

Yeroon bundled into him as he entered the ship, but Medran held her at arms' length.

"Why did you leave your place on the ship?"

The girl seemed puzzled. "But you needed help to…"

Medran shook his head and said firmly: "My personal wishes are not your concern, Yeroon. They are private and must remain so."

"But you said…" she began to cry.

"I am pleased to find you well, Yeroon." Medran pulled her into his arms, and she sobbed. "They hit Lestarta, and… and…"

The Escuvaran stroked her hair, holding her tight. He meet Ellen's gaze and she turned away suddenly, asking Teal'c after the unconscious girl resting in the ship's sick bay. She left to check on the Lestarta, followed by the young archaeologist.

For a few seconds, Medran fell silent, but then resumed his soothing noises. He had gone a long way to lose someone.

"Are you sure those folks aren't going to come back to you?" Jack turned back from the gate, but the Escuvaran shook his head.

"I am certain, O'Neill. The truce we have established will hold. But there may be friendly visits in the future…"

His gaze fell on Ellen talking to Daniel by the dialling device. The Colonel suppressed a sigh. He couldn't vouch for the telepathy stuff, but as far as he knew Ellen and Medran hadn't exchanged a single word since their return from the nebula.

"Speaking of visits, you're welcome to come to earth any time you like, catch up with old friends…"

For a moment it seemed as if the Escuvaran hadn't heard him. When he spoke, his voice was barely more than a whisper. "That won't be necessary, O'Neill."

They were joined by Airtor and the girls, and Medran lapsed into silence as the village elder spoke of her gratitude. A light rain began to fall, and in the distance a rainbow formed in the hazy sunshine above the village. O'Neill shuffled his feet significantly. In his opinion, if a planet consistently crapped on him that was a sign.

Medran gently interrupted the elder. "They know of our gratitude, Airtor. It is our loss that we do not see that or we could save our breath."

Airtor took her leave with a last promise of future assistance should it ever be required, and the girls skipped back to the village ahead of her. Lestarta cast one last fluttering glance across her shoulder, and Jack was glad the ordeal on the ship hadn't knocked the sense of mischief out of her. Teal'c began the dialling sequence and the shimmering plane of the event horizon formed in the circumference of the gate.

"You should talk to her," Jack murmured.

"Really?" Medran momentarily brightened, but fell back into his depression.

O'Neill gave him a push and the tall man stumbled forward. Daniel looked up from his conversation with Ellen.

"Oh. Hi."

For a moment it seemed as if the Escuvaran had lost the power of speech.

"I wish to speak with Ellen," he finally managed.

He waited until Daniel was out of ear shot, painfully aware of the Colonel's eyes boring into his back.

"Would you join me on a small walk?" he asked.

She shrugged and they moved to the edge of the clearing. Medran cleared his throat nervously. "I wanted to wish you well on your journey."

She looked at him, the grass at his feet, the forest dripping in rain behind him.

"I hope you will find what you are looking for," Medran ploughed on.

"What if I've already found what I'm looking for?" she asked.

The Escuvaran's face turned a shade paler. "Then I congratulate you." He gestured towards the gate where Sam and Teal'c were swallowed up by the blue wormhole. "Your path will be a happy one."

"And if what I'm looking for isn't through the gate, but here? On Escuvar?" Colour rose into her cheeks, but she held his gaze.

"Not there but… here?"

She nodded, blushing fiercely.

O'Neill watched the Escuvaran reach out and gingerly pull Ellen into a deep embrace.

"Time to go home, Danny-boy."

He looked back at the clearing glistening in the sunlight. "Shame we couldn't fix that link thingy."

"I don't think it needs fixing, Jack." Daniel stepped through the gate.

_The End_

_Oh, here we go… The dreaded Author's Note:_

_Come on, folks. I know you're reading this, and I'm getting desperate here. Could somebody _please _let me know what they're thinking?_

_Pics_


End file.
